Category Archives: Infosparks

The employment landscape and wages have both improved over the last few years, allowing for more people to participate in the home-buying process. When the economy is in good working order, as it is now, it creates opportunities in residential real estate, and right now is a potentially lucrative time to sell a home. Houses that show well and are priced correctly have been selling quickly, often at higher prices than asking.

New Listings in Chicagoland were down 8.9 percent for detached homes and 5.0 percent for attached properties. Listings Under Contract increased 1.5 percent for detached homes but decreased 0.2 percent for attached properties.

The Median Sales Price was up 7.8 percent to $242,500 for detached homes and 2.8 percent to $205,000 for attached properties. Months Supply of Inventory decreased 19.4 percent for detached units and 20.7 percent for attached units.

Although there is a mounting amount of buyer competition during the annual spring market cycle, buyer demand has not abated, nor is it expected to in the immediate future unless something unpredictable occurs. While strong demand is generally considered a good problem to have, it creates an affordability issue for some buyers, especially first-time buyers. And yet, prices will continue to rise amidst strong demand.

MRED real estate professionals can log into MREDLLC.com and click on the Statistics tab to get the latest Lender Mediated and Monthly Market Indicators Reports. You can also click on the Local Market Updates choice under the Statistics tab and use our Interactive Market Analytics map for the latest local market metrics.

We can comfortably consider the first quarter to have been a good start for residential real estate in 2017. There was certainly plenty to worry over when the year began. Aside from new national leadership in Washington, DC, and the policy shifts that can occur during such transitions, there was also the matter of continuous low housing supply, steadily rising mortgage rates and ever-increasing home prices. Nevertheless, sales have held their own in year-over-year comparisons and should improve during the busiest months of the real estate sales cycle.

New Listings in Chicagoland were up 0.5 percent for detached homes and 3.3 percent for attached properties. Listings Under Contract increased 12.9 percent for detached homes and 13.9 percent for attached properties.

The Median Sales Price was up 13.6 percent to $232,800 for detached homes and 5.2 percent to $192,500 for attached properties. Months Supply of Inventory decreased 20.1 percent for detached units and 23.8 percent for attached units.

The U.S. economy has improved for several quarters in a row, which has helped wage growth and retail consumption increase in year-over-year comparisons. Couple that with an unemployment rate that has been holding steady or dropping both nationally and in many localities, and consumer confidence is on the rise. As the economy improves, home sales tend to go up. It isn’t much more complex than that right now. Rising mortgage rates could slow growth eventually, but rate increases should be thought of as little more than a byproduct of a stronger economy and stronger demand.

MRED real estate professionals can log into MREDLLC.com and click on the Statistics tab to get the latest Lender Mediated and Monthly Market Indicators Reports. You can also click on the Local Market Updates choice under the Statistics tab and use our Interactive Market Analytics map for the latest local market metrics.

LISLE, ILLINOIS (November 7, 2013) – Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED), Chicagoland’s multiple listing service (MLS), announced today that the new interactive market analytics tool Infosparks has gotten a tremendous reception from MRED customers. Infosparks is the latest version of The Thing, the extremely popular service that MRED customers have been using for over two years. MRED customers are able to deliver timely, relevant, detailed metrics in their markets thanks to this cutting-edge program provided by 10K Research and Marketing.

Infosparks has some great new features, including the ability to be used on the iPad and other tablets. Its introduction has resulted in some very positive feedback from its users.

Leslie Ebersole, a top producing broker at Baird & Warner in St. Charles, loves to incorporate the newest tools available for improving her business. She said, “The number one question that agents are asked is probably ‘how’s the market?’ Infosparks is a really slick new tool provided by MRED that lets agents show real time data on their website, blog or in email marketing. It’s incredibly easy to make dynamic interactive charts that show exactly what is happening in any MLS area. The charts are automatically updated so that clients can see the most recent data at any time. If you’ve spent endless hours writing market reports in the past — or never taken it on because it’s too time consuming — then give Infosparks a try. Put this killer content on your website, sit back and wait for the compliments to roll in.”

Lynn Madison, Managing Broker of Lynn Madison, REALTOR, owner of Madison Seminars, and current Treasurer of the Mainstreet Organization of REALTORS®, said, “Infosparks is an amazing tool that helps real estate practitioners communicate the reality of the market to the public. The information out there on the Internet just isn’t accurate. Our clients need real information, and Infosparks is an easy and efficient way to deliver that information to our buyers and sellers. Any time we can show them in easy to read charts and graphs rather than just tell them the information, it enhances their knowledge of what is really happening in the market.”

“When we launched our first interactive market analytics product, The Thing, it was a revelation,” said Greg Sax, Vice President of 10K Research and Marketing. “Infosparks has addressed former limitations of mobile-readiness, multiple-area comparisons, the sharing of live-data widgets and more options in less physical space. Working with MRED is awesome because they know every nuance of their market data and frequently advance the scope of our tools for the betterment of the Chicagoland marketplace.”

“MRED’s dedication to progress and improvement never ceases,” said MRED CEO Russ Bergeron. “As popular as The Thing has been for our customers, Infosparks is a significant step forward. It is like having a brand new product, and we are thrilled to have it available now for MRED customers.”

About MRED

Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) is the real estate data aggregator and distributor providing the Chicagoland multiple listing service (MLS) to nearly 40,000 brokers and appraisers and 8,000 offices. MRED serves Chicago and the surrounding “collar” counties and provides property information encompassing northern Illinois, southern Wisconsin and northwest Indiana. MRED delivers over twenty products and services to its customers, complementing connectMLS™, the top-rated MLS system in the country per the latest WAV Group MLS Technology Survey. MRED is the 2013 Inman News Most Innovative MLS/Real Estate Trade Association. For more information please visit MREDLLC.com.

About 10K Research and Marketing

10K Research and Marketing, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Minneapolis Area Association of REALTORS®, is a growing research and technology firm that serves REALTOR® associations, MLS organizations, brokers and other real estate companies in more than 150 markets throughout North America. 10K creates interactive market analytics products, statewide data-reporting initiatives and an abundance of easy-to-read market reports. www.10kresearch.com